The long awaited and much hyped "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" auction, a showcase of works by controversial British artist Damien Hirst, was held at Sotheby’s, London, on the 15th September 2008.

The auction of 56 lots realized a total of £70.5 million, exceeding the pre-auction estimate of £65 million. 21,000 visitors viewed the show, which was restricted to 656 ticketed clients on the first night of the two-day sale.

This is the first time that an artist of his standing has put art work directly into the public market rather than operating through a dealer and gallery. Hirst said, "It's a very democratic way to sell art and it feels like a natural evolution for contemporary art. Although there is risk involved, I embrace the challenge of selling my work in this way."

The highest bid of the night went to The Golden Calf, an animal with 18-carat gold horns and hooves, preserved in a formaldehyde solution, which fetched £10.3 million, setting a new auction record for Hirst’s work. Hirst’s previous auction record of £9.65 million was set in June this year when a telephone bidder, later identified as the Emir of Qatar, purchased a pill cabinet entitled Lullaby Spring. The Kingdom, another star item, sold for £9.6 million, more than £3 million above its estimate.

Hirst has made headlines in the past with his attention grabbing works such as "For the love of God", a diamond encrusted skull that fetched $100 million in a privately brokered sale earlier this year, setting the record for the highest selling work of art by a living artist.